Customer Reviews

Dig Out Your Soul

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

O.k., I liked these guys from the start. Liked their music, their attitude, the covers, even the videos when I got to see them (usually don't care about those).
Does that make me a fan? Probably. Would I buy anything they spit out? NO!
This, however, I suggest you get. It's fantastic. Although other fans over here think it doesn't quite reach Definitely Maybe or (What's the story)Morning Glory? I don't agree.
The guys moved on - not in a revolutionary way, but still. I think it's wrong to compare anything to the early masterpieces. This is another time; the band has evolved and brought us this: A new Marvel of their art.

"Someone tell me I'm dreaming, the freaks are rising up through the floor" - the moment I heard that line in Bag It Up, the first song on the album, I was 70% convinced this was for me. The other 30% followed with the next few chords.
Rock at its best.
Of course the typical Oasis melody patterns are strewn all over the place, (as f.e. in The Shock of The Lightning or The Turning) which once again doesn't mean it is a copy of anything they did before. As I said, they evolved.

Noel (vocals, guitar, drums, keys and electronics) wrote six, Liam (vocals) three and Gem (guitar, bass, keys) and Andy Bell (bass, guitar, keys) each penned one song. Zak Starkey plays drums again.

My favorites are the ballad I'm Outta Time and the Mid-Tempo Falling Down, but I also like the stomping Get Off Your High Horse Lady or The Turning and Waiting For The Rapture.
Oh, and did I mention the booklet-art? Love it!

If you ever liked what they did, get this.
If you never bought any of their stuff because you believed others saying Oasis being too close to the Beatles but you liked the Beatles from the days when they made Revolver, get this, stop thinking and just listen (and tell those "others" they don't know what they're talking about - though it's clear the Gallaghers are fans: I'm Outta Time contains an excerpt from a BBC John Lennon interview.)
If ever you're still undecided, get this too. I swear you'll grow into it.

I am an Oasis fan. Seen em live, have all the albums and a few EPs. So to short order, the music on Dig Out Your Soul is really good, I don't have to listen to it much to know that. The band definitely sounds at their tightest as a group, even if it's not their best (commercially successful) sound. You can tell they on top of their game, and that this is an album they wanted to make. So music wise, it's really all good, if you like the other albums, you're gonna like this one.

On to the modern record mastering though - I have a high end stereo, bowers and wilkins speakers, hand built tube amps and I have a large music collection. I know what good recordings sound like. Stereophile in numerous issues (via letters, articles) has used Oasis albums as the perfect example of a poor, overly-compressed sound. What one poster called "victim of the loudness war." The first single is really bad about that -- some of the other tunes do fair better.. still after listening a couple times this evening, I couldn't help but go grab some other rock discs. I popped in Back in Black and boom, there was a rock sound, real drums, real bass, real DYNAMICS. (please note this has nothing to do with the music - I am talking about the recording and mastering process here). Ditto that with The Wall, Some Rolling Stones and on and on... dont even get me started on comparing it to some amazingly well recorded music in the folk, jazz or classical arena...

Truth is, it probably wasn't even the recording of the disc, it's most likely the mastering process. SO, if you're an Oasis fan AND an audiophile, you already know what I am talking about. Great music, more of the same in the sound department - maybe a little better. Not really a surprise, just more of a let down. I'd like to see one of my favorite bands get better than the Britney Spears treatment - at least for one record.

Oasis returns to the music scene with their newest album in 3 years, Dig Out Your Soul. Like every album they've released since their heyday in the mid-90's, critics, fans, and the band themselves have raved about every album they've released, particularly the last 3, but the hype proved bogus on many occasions: their 2000 album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants was messy, 2002's Heathen Chemistry was good but flawed. The only exception was 2005's Don't Believe The Truth which was great but had just a few sloppy moments. I am a huge Oasis fan, and I can honestly say that Dig out Your Soul is their greatest work since 1995's What's The Story Morning Glory!

The album opens up with the aggressive rocker Bag It Up, Noel's ode to the days when he used to get high, which features crisp vocals by Liam. With lyrics like "Someone tell me I'm dreaming, the freaks are rising up from the floor", Bag It Up can't go wrong, and finds itself amongst Noel Gallagher's classiest rock anthems. This is followed by the toned down, low-key rocker The Turning, which has fast become one of Noel's best compositions and songwritings despite recent claims of plagiarism from a Cliff Richards song. The song features excellent singing by Liam, and has even more interesting lyrics than Bag It Up, take for example the chorus that starts with "So come on, shake your rag doll, baby, before you change your mind." Noel takes over singing duties next with Waiting for the Rapture, a song that borrows the guitar riff from The Doors' Five to One, and, for what its worth, is a great song. The first single, the fast paced, wildly aggressive rocker The Shock of the Lightning comes next, and it is quite simply Oasis's finest single in years. Hearing it the first time, it gave me flashbacks of hearing Definitely Maybe in 1994, particularly the songs Rock 'n Roll Star and Supersonic. The song comes charging at you like a stampede of bulls running through the wilderness. Liam's beautiful ballad, and only ballad on the album, and future hit single, I'm Outta Time, follows. It's a song that Liam doesn't shy away from showing his affection towards his rock hero John Lennon, and expressing his vulnerability with lyrics like, "If I'm to fall, would you be there to applaud?" The song even includes a Lennon soundbite from an interview he made with the BBC 2 days before his untimely death.

Noel returns to the vocals in the next 2 songs, the first, the heavily psychedelic Get Off Your High Horse Lady, a song I've described as a cowboy ditty on acid. The second song is Noel's best, and one of the highlights on Dig Out Your Soul, the elusive Falling Down, where Noel questions his religious belief. Up next is the George Harrison influenced, Gem Archer penned, To Be Where There's Life, a song that doesn't include any guitars, but relies mostly on bass, sitars, and Zak Starkey's drums. The song does feature the best singing by Liam on the entire album in my own humble opinion. Speaking of Liam, the next song is his second where he's credited as songwriter. The song is Ain't Got Nothin', and even though I despised the song when it first leaked online about 3 months ago, I've come to appreciate its straightforwardness. The song is about the fight Liam was invloved in a Munich hotel in 2002, and includes, as a result, Liam screaming and cussing in faded out vocals near the end of the song as to act out the fight. Andy Bell's The Nature of Reality is next, and it is one of my personal favorites on the album. A loud cool rocker, layered with cool guitar riffs influenced by The Beatles and to some extent Led Zeppelin. It succeeds thanks to Liam's snarling lines like "The nature of reality is pure subjective fantasy". It's also the closest sounding song to Definitely Maybe, particulary the song Columbia. The final song on the album is Soldier On, the third song written by Liam, which after repeated listenings will reveal its depth, and a fantastic way to end another Oasis classic album.

My final verdict on this album is that it is massive! Oasis are definitely back with a vengeance. For those who've had doubts about Oasis's legitamacy as one of the greatest rock bands of our time, this album will, and should, wash all that away!

I'm mad for it all over again!

Highly recommended

A

Track picks:

Bag It Up
The Turning
The Shock of the Lightning
I'm Outta Time
Falling Down
To Be Where There's Life
The Nature of Reality
Soldier On

Say what you want about Oasis, but it is difficult to name another currently existing band that is 7 albums into their career and can still make a record like "Dig Out Your Soul." This is a mature album that speaks as an album, rather than just a collection of songs, in much the same way that "What's the Story Morning Glory" did. "Dig Out Your Sole" shares a consistency of sound and theme as did "Morning Glory," though it intentionally lacks the sing-along moments and direct, glam-rock emotional appeal.

A different kind of mood dominates "Dig Out Your Soul"--- something that might be described as droning psychedelia. The most obvious influence is a song like "Tomorrow Never Knows" from the Beatles' "Revolver." There are forays into blues and country, but even they are pushed through an almost brooding, smoky haze. The vocals throughout are mostly buried deep in the mix, as if Liam and Noel are singing in another room.

This isn't a depressing album, but it is certainly the first by Oasis to prioritize an overall feel well above producing individual hit songs. This is the kind of album that can only be made by a mature band with a solid fan base that can afford to take chances. Despite their antics, Oasis really do not appear to be in it for the money (or girls, or drugs) anymore. "Dig Out Your Soul" is proof that they remain intent on making good on their promise that they are the best rock band in the world.

I am a fanboy, probably, and this is their best since What's the Story (Morning Glory). Though of course that line itself does not say much, this collection of groovy (yes, groovy) tracks contains only one or two clunkers. Overall quite worth it.

Great Oasis discs are generally consistent from top to bottom. They also have a great, "can't live without" type single as well. The second LP was chock full of them and the last one had a great one in "Lyla". This CD doesn't have a truly great single type standout track. However, one should not pass this CD up because it is generally strong from top to bottom. The use of tamboura is a nice touch. These guys know how to make strong records and this one is no exception.

one might say given the sad state of music today that kids could grow up with no true heroes or legends in their life time to look up to and inspire to be like. the tight pants and glam make-up bs that's so-called "rock" on the radio today leaves little hope for the future of rock n roll. but god bless this band. thank you for sticking to your guns and writing real music. A+ always no matter what those corporate magazines say.

I've been a casual fan of theirs for awhile now, have all of their studio releases except for HEATHEN CHEMISTRY(lost it). I have to say i was quite surprised by how good this release is since i found their last cd DONT BELIEVE THE TRUTH so disappointing.

The reason why i like this cd so much is there's at least a handful of great songs that sound distinctive, catchy, unique, 'cool', and rock with an attitude. Hard for me to explain or describe, but it also sounds more mature and flows smoothly and on the best songs it still manages to rock hard and sound edgy.

That's why i buy an Oasis cd, and that's why i put it along side WHAT'S THE STORY...and DEFINITELY MAYBE. I'm not a music expert but i know what i like and what sounds good to me, and this release fits both those requirements. Fans will get this and probably enjoy it, but to other casuals and newcomers i'm going to break it down this way:

GREAT songs:
Falling Down....catchy rocker, great vocals and chorus, my favorite?
To Be Where There Is Life....cool bass and beat, sneering vocals, 'nasty'-sounding, psychadelic, my favorite?
The Turning....smooth rocker, good vocals and guitars, my favorite?
I'm Outta Time....their Beatle-esque ballad, i always like these.
The Shock Of The Lightning....maybe the most straight-forward rocker on the cd, Oasis-certified attitude.

__________________________
Good:
Bag It Up
Waiting For The Rapture
Ain't Got Nothin'
________________________
OK:
High Horse Lady
The Nature Of Reality
Soldier On

Seriously though, if the first 5 songs i listed don't grab you vocally, musically, or emotionally when you hear them, then this cd is probably not for you. I've listened to DIG OUT YOUR SOUL multiple times straight through since i bought it and only skip the last 3 listed. But the whole cd is worth owning imo, and it definitely(maybe) ranks as my favorite since their debut.

Melodic and magnificent.

Tracks 1,3,4 and 7 are stand outs.

Their best work since Heathen Chemistry.

Not perfect, but a return to form.

To start with, I have to say that though I have listened to and enjoyed Oasis, in varying degrees, from their earliest records, Oasis' career does not coincide with the days of my heady youth -- the time where certain records or groups are imprinted into your psyche, as the soundtrack to the excitement of your young life. So though I always like Oasis, I was never caught up in the mania about the group that the band enjoyed in their earliest days. I've never related my life and times to their music. And to be quite honest, though I've enjoyed these early records that most Oasis fans continue to hold up as the holy grail of band, I found them to be generally kind of musically one-dimensional. For the life of me, I NEVER understood all the commentary about them sounding like The Beatles. Oasis is a one vocalist band, for crying out loud, banging on three or four jangely chord songs,with amps on 11 for most of those early records. How is that Beatlesque? If you want to hear a band that has the Beatles running through their musical veins, listen to the recordings of XTC.

And though Oasis and XTC are not very much alike, like XTC, Oasis has matured and broadened their sound and their songwriting over the years. Their songs are much more cleverly layed out. Their musicality is more sonically sophisticated. In this sense, they are following a path perhaps originally layed down by The Beatles, but followed by a number of wonderful British bands who proved over the years that they were much more than just the muscial adrenaline of their youth. I have to admit here, that as a youth, I was "disappointed" with the departure the Beatles were taking with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This wasn't the straight up rock n' roll band I had fallen in love with and these new sounds The Beatles were making just didn't do it for me at that time.

Well, I'm not comparing "Dig Out Your Soul" with "Sgt. Pepper," but I do think the analogy to the general outcry of disappointed Oasis fans rings true here. Personally, I absolutely loved "Don't Believe The Truth." Finally, I could hear the Beatles influence that everyone had been talking about in Oasis for so long. But for me, that record was like an homage to The Beatles, not a rip off. Though I can't say I like it quite as much, after afew listens, "Dig Out Your Soul" picks up right where "Don't Believe The Truth" left off, but without quite as much of the Beatle derivative in it. They've gone through a lot of changes, and have made some lackluster records. But for my money, Oasis is now a ripened band that is for real over the long haul. And you don't find hardly any of them any more. This record is highly recommended -- and so is this band.